Another suit filed in Silsbee rape case

About a week after a federal lawsuit filed on the behalf of a Silsbee cheerleader was dismissed, a lawsuit on her behalf was filed in state district court.

The cheerleader and her family now are suing two of the three teenagers originally accused of raping the girl, this time for intentional sexual assault and the infliction of emotional distress, according to the paperwork filed Friday in the Hardin County district court.

The lawsuit asks for a jury trial to decide the matter.

The 16-year-old cheerleader said that on Oct. 19, 2008, she was raped at a party in Silsbee. About a dozen teenagers were drinking alcohol at the party, and, at about 2 a.m., the cheerleader claims she was pushed into a room, held down and raped.

Criminal charges against three teenagers, including a minor, were thrown out by a grand jury in January, but the case will be heard by a second grand jury, possibly as soon as today.

Special prosecutor David Barlow said earlier this month that he hoped to present the case then.